Preoperative clinical factors and visual outcomes following orbital decompression with dysthyroid optic neuropathy

BACKGROUND: To investigate preoperative clinical factors and visual outcomes of Japanese patients with dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) after urgent orbital decompression. METHODS: This retrospective, observational case series study investigated 44 patients who exhibited several preoperative clinical factors that might be associated with the need for urgent orbital decompression due to DON. Additionally, the visual acuity of DON patients was compared between the patients preoperatively and at 1 and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: All 44 patients received steroid and with or without radiation therapy, with 27 patients able to avoid undergoing urgent surgery. However, the remaining 17 patients required urgent orbital decompression following a lack of response to the therapy. None of the patients who initially avoided surgery required additional surgery for DON. Factors significantly associated with the need for urgent orbital decompression surgery included: female gender, older age, long disease duration, unilateral significant DON, history of resistance to pulsed steroid therapy, unstable thyroid function, high TRAb (Thyrotrophin receptor antibody)value, poor visual acuity, presence of central diplopia, and presence of corneal problems (P < 0.05 each). The results also showed that postoperative visual outcomes of surgery for DON were acceptable. CONCLUSION: This study revealed several preoperative clinical factors for DON that appear to be associated with the need for urgent orbital decompression surgery in Japanese patients.